Upon initial inspection, it resembles a mass of beige dough filled with metal nuts, bolts, and nails – akin to a bizarre concoction. However, scrutinizing the police image reveals a typical improvised explosive device (IED), believed to be intended for placement at a military center in Kyiv, as per Ukrainian authorities.
During the conflict in Afghanistan, the Canadian Forces encountered a similar type of IED along roadsides or in the path of armored convoys. In this instance, the bomb was discovered in Ukraine’s capital, involving a local teenager rather than the Taliban.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), this incident was one among several cases where civilians recruited online were tasked by Russian agents to clandestinely plant the bomb near a military facility for remote detonation. The teenage culprit was apprehended in May.
Steven Rai, a digital research analyst at the U.S.-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue, who monitors global terrorism, highlighted that Russia is exploiting vulnerable individuals desperate for financial gain to carry out these attacks, regardless of their age or background.
Amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine described as a “meat grinder,” the clandestine warfare between the Kremlin and Kyiv has escalated, with incidents like IEDs in Kyiv becoming more frequent.
Covert assassinations, railway sabotage, car bombings, and the involvement of a designated terrorist group with ties to Canada are all contributing to making the largest land war in Europe since World War II reminiscent of the era of the global war on terror.
In June, Ukrainian special forces executed a daring operation by deploying kamikaze drones deep into Russia, reaching Siberia to target parts of a sitting Russian strategic bomber fleet, a mission now recognized as Operation Spider’s Web. Additionally, mysterious agents linked to Kyiv have unsettled Russian officers residing in Moscow.
Conversely, within Ukraine, Russia has been engaging in its own covert operations, aiming to weaponize Ukrainian civilians as operatives and informants against their own country. Using encrypted platforms like Telegram, agents of Russia’s main spy agency, the FSB, entice Ukrainians with financial incentives for engaging in acts of insurgency.
</